The document provides an overview of software reuse in engineering, discussing its benefits such as increased dependability, reduced risks, and accelerated development. It outlines various approaches to software reuse, including application frameworks, software product lines, and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products, along with associated challenges like maintenance costs and the 'not-invented-here syndrome.' Additionally, it highlights the importance of adapting generic systems like ERP for specific business needs and the role of component libraries in effective software development.

1. CS 473 : Software Engineering -2
Chapter 1 : Course Overview
Chapter 2 : Architectural Design
Chapter 3 : Design and Implementation
Chapter 4 : Distributed Software Engineering
Chapter 5 : Software Reuse
Chapter 5 – Software Reuse
Lecture 1
1
Chapter 5 Software Reuse

2. Topics covered
 The reuse landscape
 Application frameworks
 Software product lines
 COTS product reuse
Chapter 16 Software reuse 2

3. Software reuse
 In most engineering disciplines, systems are designed
by composing existing components that have been used
in other systems.
 Software engineering has been more focused on original
development but it is now recognised that to achieve
better software, more quickly and at lower cost, we need
a design process that is based on systematic software
reuse.
 There has been a major switch to reuse-based
development over the past 10 years.

4. Reuse-based software engineering
 Application system reuse
 The whole of an application system may be reused either by
incorporating it without change into other systems (COTS reuse)
or by developing application families.
 Component reuse
 Components of an application from sub-systems to single objects
may be reused. Covered in Chapter 17.
 Object and function reuse
 Software components that implement a single well-defined object
or function may be reused.

5. Benefits of software reuse
Benefit Explanation
Increased dependability Reused software, which has been tried and tested in
working systems, should be more dependable than
new software. Its design and implementation faults
should have been found and fixed.
Reduced process risk The cost of existing software is already known,
whereas the costs of development are always a matter
of judgment. This is an important factor for project
management because it reduces the margin of error in
project cost estimation. This is particularly true when
relatively large software components such as
subsystems are reused.
Effective use of specialists Instead of doing the same work over and over again,
application specialists can develop reusable software
that encapsulates their knowledge.
5
Chapter 16 Software reuse

6. Benefits of software reuse
Benefit Explanation
Standards compliance Some standards, such as user interface standards, can
be implemented as a set of reusable components. For
example, if menus in a user interface are implemented
using reusable components, all applications present the
same menu formats to users. The use of standard user
interfaces improves dependability because users make
fewer mistakes when presented with a familiar interface.
Accelerated development Bringing a system to market as early as possible is often
more important than overall development costs. Reusing
software can speed up system production because both
development and validation time may be reduced.
6
Chapter 16 Software reuse

7. Problems with reuse
Problem Explanation
Increased maintenance
costs
If the source code of a reused software system or
component is not available then maintenance costs may be
higher because the reused elements of the system may
become increasingly incompatible with system changes.
Lack of tool support Some software tools do not support development with
reuse. It may be difficult or impossible to integrate these
tools with a component library system. The software
process assumed by these tools may not take reuse into
account. This is particularly true for tools that support
embedded systems engineering, less so for object-oriented
development tools.
Not-invented-here
syndrome
Some software engineers prefer to rewrite components
because they believe they can improve on them. This is
partly to do with trust and partly to do with the fact that
writing original software is seen as more challenging than
reusing other people’s software.
7
Chapter 16 Software reuse

8. Problems with reuse
Problem Explanation
Creating, maintaining,
and using a component
library
Populating a reusable component library and ensuring the
software developers can use this library can be expensive.
Development processes have to be adapted to ensure that
the library is used.
Finding, understanding,
and adapting reusable
components
Software components have to be discovered in a library,
understood and, sometimes, adapted to work in a new
environment. Engineers must be reasonably confident of
finding a component in the library before they include a
component search as part of their normal development
process.
8
Chapter 16 Software reuse

9. Approaches that support software reuse
Approach Description
Architectural patterns Standard software architectures that support common types
of application systems are used as the basis of applications.
Described in Chapters 6, 13, and 20.
Design patterns Generic abstractions that occur across applications are
represented as design patterns showing abstract and
concrete objects and interactions. Described in Chapter 7.
Component-based
development
Systems are developed by integrating components
(collections of objects) that conform to component-model
standards. Described in Chapter 17.
Application frameworks Collections of abstract and concrete classes are adapted and
extended to create application systems.
Legacy system wrapping Legacy systems (see Chapter 9) are ‘wrapped’ by defining a
set of interfaces and providing access to these legacy
systems through these interfaces.
9
Chapter 16 Software reuse

10. Key points
 Most new business software systems are now developed by reusing
knowledge and code from previously implemented systems.
 There are many different ways to reuse software. These range from
the reuse of classes and methods in libraries to the reuse of
complete application systems.
 The advantages of software reuse are lower costs, faster software
development and lower risks. System dependability is increased.
Specialists can be used more effectively by concentrating their
expertise on the design of reusable components.
 Application frameworks are collections of concrete and abstract
objects that are designed for reuse through specialization and the
addition of new objects. They usually incorporate good design
practice through design patterns.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 10

11. Chapter 16 – Software Reuse
Lecture 2
11
Chapter 16 Software reuse

12. Software product lines
 Software product lines or application families are
applications with generic functionality that can be
adapted and configured for use in a specific context.
 A software product line is a set of applications with a
common architecture and shared components, with each
application specialized to reflect different requirements.
 Adaptation may involve:
 Component and system configuration;
 Adding new components to the system;
 Selecting from a library of existing components;
 Modifying components to meet new requirements.

13. Application frameworks and product lines
 Application frameworks rely on object-oriented features
such as polymorphism to implement extensions. Product
lines need not be object-oriented (e.g. embedded
software for a mobile phone)
 Application frameworks focus on providing technical
rather than domain-specific support. Product lines
embed domain and platform information.
 Product lines often control applications for equipment.
 Software product lines are made up of a family of
applications, usually owned by the same organization.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 13

14. Product line specialisation
 Platform specialization
 Different versions of the application are developed for
different platforms.
 Environment specialization
 Different versions of the application are created to handle
different operating environments e.g. different types of
communication equipment.
 Functional specialization
 Different versions of the application are created for customers
with different requirements.
 Process specialization
 Different versions of the application are created to support
different business processes.

15. Product line architectures
 Architectures must be structured in such a way to
separate different sub-systems and to allow them to be
modified.
 The architecture should also separate entities and their
descriptions and the higher levels in the system access
entities through descriptions rather than directly.

16. Product line configuration
 Design time configuration
 The product line is adapted and changed according to the
requirements of particular customers.
 Deployment time configuration
 The product line is configured by embedding knowledge of the
customer’s requirements and business processes. The software
source code itself is not changed.

17. COTS product reuse
 A commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product is a software
system that can be adapted for different customers
without changing the source code of the system.
 COTS systems have generic features and so can be
used/reused in different environments.
 COTS products are adapted by using built-in
configuration mechanisms that allow the functionality of
the system to be tailored to specific customer needs.
 For example, in a hospital patient record system, separate input
forms and output reports might be defined for different types of
patient.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 17

18. Benefits of COTS reuse
 As with other types of reuse, more rapid deployment of a reliable
system may be possible.
 It is possible to see what functionality is provided by the applications
and so it is easier to judge whether or not they are likely to be
suitable.
 Some development risks are avoided by using existing software.
However, this approach has its own risks, as I discuss below.
 Businesses can focus on their core activity without having to devote
a lot of resources to IT systems development.
 As operating platforms evolve, technology updates may be
simplified as these are the responsibility of the COTS product
vendor rather than the customer.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 18

19. Problems of COTS reuse
 Requirements usually have to be adapted to reflect the
functionality and mode of operation of the COTS product.
 The COTS product may be based on assumptions that are
practically impossible to change.
 Choosing the right COTS system for an enterprise can be a
difficult process, especially as many COTS products are not
well documented.
 There may be a lack of local expertise to support systems
development.
 The COTS product vendor controls system support and
evolution.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 19

20. ERP systems
 An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a
generic system that supports common business
processes such as ordering and invoicing,
manufacturing, etc.
 These are very widely used in large companies - they
represent probably the most common form of software
reuse.
 The generic core is adapted by including modules and
by incorporating knowledge of business processes and
rules.

21. The architecture of an ERP system
21
Chapter 16 Software reuse

22. ERP architecture
 A number of modules to support different business
functions.
 A defined set of business processes, associated with
each module, which relate to activities in that module.
 A common database that maintains information about all
related business functions.
 A set of business rules that apply to all data in the
database.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 22

23. ERP configuration
 Selecting the required functionality from the system.
 Establishing a data model that defines how the organization’s
data will be structured in the system database.
 Defining business rules that apply to that data.
 Defining the expected interactions with external systems.
 Designing the input forms and the output reports generated by
the system.
 Designing new business processes that conform to the
underlying process model supported by the system.
 Setting parameters that define how the system is deployed on
its underlying platform.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 23

24. A COTS-integrated procurement system
24
Chapter 16 Software reuse

25. Key points
 Software product lines are related applications that are developed from a
common base. This generic system is adapted to meet specific
requirements for functionality, target platform or operational configuration.
 COTS product reuse is concerned with the reuse of large-scale, off-the-
shelf systems. These provide a lot of functionality and their reuse can
radically reduce costs and development time. Systems may be developed
by configuring a single, generic COTS product or by integrating two or more
COTS products.
 Enterprise Resource Planning systems are examples of large-scale COTS
reuse. You create an instance of an ERP system by configuring a generic
system with information about the customer’s business processes and
rules.
 Potential problems with COTS-based reuse include lack of control over
functionality and performance, lack of control over system evolution, the
need for support from external vendors and difficulties in ensuring that
systems can inter-operate.
Chapter 16 Software reuse 25